


The golden ones and the fair one

by Tikor



Series: Lunar oral history long before the wolf [2]
Category: Exalted
Genre: Fanfiction, Gen, Raksha, Solars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 20:29:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7376245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tikor/pseuds/Tikor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Our souls might hold us back, but losing parts of them only leads to sorrow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The golden ones and the fair one

Once there was a golden man who was a protector of his people. He was the shining sword kept in the shadow, and none who fled the light could escape his judgment. On his brow was the symbol for no moon, only his was for no sun. He was as vigilant as the sun, and in his vigilance learned of a threat to his people. He walked among the heavens and heard of a god who had planned the end of his people entirely, for all things must end by the will of Saturn. But this god desired an end to her own domain sooner than had been ordained so that she would be free from her own watch and could revel in the heavenly city like the mightiest of gods untroubled by the dint of Creation.  
  
The golden man had thought the god a friend, for this god was the patron of the very people the golden man had sworn to protect. They had spoken often and become friends. The golden man did not know when the god would hatch her plan against the people, or what would happen on that day. What could he even do to prevent it? What would happen to him if he did stop the mighty god? The golden man hesitated, and worried.  
  
But the golden man knew many secrets. He had ranged beyond the edge of the world, for in those days the golden ones were no pups. He knew of the mad beings who ate souls for the pleasure of their taste. He said to himself, "If I could lose the parts of myself that cause me to hold back, I could do this for my people. What kind of leader am I if I cannot give this of myself?"  
  
So the golden man ranged beyond the world and found a mad being who ate souls. It had taken a shape pleasing to the eye, to better lure in prey. He said to this fair one, "I would have you eat the part of my soul that makes me hesitate to protect my people. Eat my love for my enemy. Eat my sense of self-preservation. Eat everything but my conviction to protect my people, and I will reward you." The fair one was overjoyed to be given this chance. Normally she had to lie and cheat and steal the souls she ate. Normally the golden ones used their golden swords to send the fair ones farther into the beyond without playing any fun games. Yes, this game, this meal, sounded very fun to the fair one. She said, "Take me to your palace in Creation and give me your body for a reward. I will have this first, before I eat your soul. You may not be yourself enough to honor the agreement afterwards." The golden man, in his quest to help his people, agreed.  
  
So the fair one was taken back and feasted at the golden man's own table, served by his very hand and loved by his own body. The golden man asked, "Are you pleased?". The fair one said, "Yes, I am pleased." The golden man said, "Then honor our agreement, and eat part of my soul."  
  
The fair one bared her fangs and drank deeply of the golden man's soul. First she ate his love for his enemy, then she ate all his love for all the things in the world, even his people. Next she ate his thirst for battle, he would no longer raise his sword out of anger or challenge. She ate his sense of self and peace, thoughts of his own injury or death would no longer trouble him. She ate even his will to change the world to better suit him and the will to change himself to better suit the world. All she left was his goal and quest: that to protect his people. Full from the sun-child's soul the fair one said to him, "I am finished, and now I will go to tell this story in the wyld currents beyond the world."  
  
The golden man lay on the floor, hurt from the missing parts of his soul. But hearing the fair one try to go he pushed beyond his pain and grabbed her. He said, "You are a threat to my people, and I will lock you away."  
  
The fair one did not see this coming. She struggled but could not flee. She asked the golden man, "If I cannot go where will you keep me?" The golden man said, "The place I keep my secrets. You will stay there in a cage in case I have need of you again." And so the fair one was dragged to a cage in a dark place, locked away. She could not go free to tell her kin the story of the time she drank the golden man's soul and feasted at the golden man's own table, served by his very hand and loved by his own body. And that is what she wanted to do most in the world and beyond.  
  
The golden man called forth his weapons of war and girded them on his body. So armed he rode forth on his mighty steed up to heaven. There he met the god of his people who had planned their end. They did battle in the very heavens, until the golden man was victorious. But the other gods in the sky saw this and were angry at the golden man. The golden man threw down his weapons. The gods said to the golden man that he had no right to cut down one of their number. To them he said, "This god would have ended my people, those that I have sworn to protect. I could not let her do so. You may do with me as you wish." So they locked the golden man away and gathered to decide what to do with him.  
  
The fair one knew none of this, and cried herself to sleep among the secrets of the golden man. For how long she could not tell. She could not see the sun or the moon or feel the waves of the wyld places beyond the world.

A golden woman came to her. She said to the fair one, "The golden man is locked away by the gods and they endlessly debate his fate. As his friend I came to help him and that journey has brought me here. I know many truths, so I was asked to find the truth of this matter." The fair one was overjoyed. Being freed by a golden woman after being imprisoned would make a fine ending to the story of the time she drank the golden man's soul and feasted at the golden man's own table, served by his very hand and loved by his own body. She said, "I will tell you how I changed him if you will but set me free."  
  
The golden woman had a mark on her forehead that was like the mark of the crescent moon if the heaviest part had risen to the top. That mark flashed at the fair one so brightly that the fair one ran to the back of the cage and huddled there afraid. The golden woman said, "I know your kind and you are all full of lies. No, I will not listen. You will show me or you will stay forever in this cage."

The fair one was overjoyed. She would have a second meal! To the golden woman she said, "I ate his soul and would eat yours as well. All the parts of it except his conviction to protect his people. When I had eaten his burden he could see the Way. I could show you by eating your soul, but you'd have to tell me what to leave behind."

The golden woman was wary. She told the fair one, "I will bring a servant and you will show me how you eat souls". The fair one said to the golden woman, "Is your servant golden?" The golden woman shook her head no. "Is one soul so different from another?" The fair one said, "Oh, yes. It would be nothing alike on a soul that was not golden. They are so much brighter that no other soul compares to a golden soul."

The golden woman thought this over. She was pleased to hear her kind of soul was so bright, but she did not want to end up in the same trouble as the golden man. She said to the fair one, "I have been uninspired of late. Every time I sit at my forge another matter draws me away. Like this one where I speak to you about the golden man. If you are to eat my soul, eat all the parts that are not about my work at the forge." The fair one agreed, for she would do anything to escape this dark place among the golden man's secrets and eating a meal of the golden woman's soul was not so hard a thing at all!

First the fair one ate her love for the golden man, then she ate all her love for all the things in the world. Next she ate her thirst for battle, she would no longer raise her sword out of anger or challenge. She ate her sense of self and peace, thoughts of her own injury or death would no longer trouble her. She ate even her will to change the world to better suit her and the will to change herself to better suit the world. All the fair one left was her goal and her quest: to produce a wonder from her forge. Full from the sun-child's soul the fair one said to her, "I am finished, and now I will go to tell this story in the wyld currents beyond the world. Please unlock my cage."

The golden woman lay on the floor, hurt from the missing parts of her soul. The golden woman did not move and did not speak. She only stared wordlessly into the cage that held the fair one. The fair one tried again, "I am finished, and now I will go to tell this story in the wyld currents beyond the world. When you let me out of this cage as we agreed." The golden woman sat before the fair one in silence as if the fair one was not there. To all the world and beyond it was as if the golden woman were just another secret among all the other secrets the golden man kept.

The fair one despaired, for she was again alone in the cage. She cried herself to sleep among the secrets of the golden man, always under the stare of the unseeing golden woman. For how long she could not tell. She could not see the sun or the moon or feel the waves of the wyld places beyond the world.

After some time had passed in this way the golden woman rose from the floor and said, "I knew what to build on the forge this whole time, I just could not see it." She ran away without looking at the fair one or hearing her cries to honor their agreement.

The golden woman set to her forge and let nothing distract her from her work. For days and days without food or rest or thought of any other thing the golden woman hammered the forge. At last her wonder made its way into the world and she collapsed from her own negligence. Another golden man with a mark on his forehead like the full moon came to the golden woman and saw his golden sister lying on the floor in exhastion before her wonder. This golden man puzzled how this came about. He cared not for the wonder but immediately cared for the golden woman. For days he helped her regain her strength. He trickled water down her throat and prayed for her often. After many days of this she awoke. She asked the full golden man, "What has become of my wonder?" The full golden man said, "I do not know and I do not care. What has become of you? Our brother is locked up by the gods and you are lying collapsed on the floor. How did this come to be?" The golden woman asked the full golden man, "If I tell you will you let me be with my wonder?" The full golden man reluctantly agreed. The golden woman explained, "I met the fair one who set our brother to apparent madness and I have now learned the truth. It merely set him free from himself. I have been freed as well. But even now I feel the other things in the world coming back to me. I must be with my wonder before this fades." The full golden man, seeing he would not keep his sister from her wonder, made her eat and then let her be.

The fair one knew none of this, and cried herself to sleep among the secrets of the no sun golden man. For how long she could not tell. She could not see the sun or the moon or feel the waves of the wyld places beyond the world.

The full golden man came to the fair one in her despair. He said to the fair one, "I know you, fair one! I have seen your works and know them to be wicked! I will unmake you down to the motes that bear the lie of your being so that none of your likeness will ever work your foul magic on my brothers and sisters! Why, how could you do something so cruel to my brother to get him locked away in heaven not knowing the fate that will befall him? How could you tie my sister to the forge so that she forgets her very need to eat? Have you no heart?! Nay, you do not! For these crimes and others I will see that..." At first the fair one was scared, the full golden man had said he would unmake her! But then he talked and talked and said many more things. The fair one listened and listened and listened. For how long she could not tell. She could not see the sun or the moon or feel the waves of the wyld places beyond the world. For so long did the full golden man talk that she felt she knew him. She knew he was always thinking of others and how they might be understood and made whole. So while the full golden man was talking she began to sip at his soul. Slowly at first, to not attract his attention from his many, many words. First she ate his goal, his quest: to come to this place and seek vengeance upon the fair one. Next she ate his thirst for battle, he would no longer raise his sword out of anger or challenge. She ate his sense of self and peace, thoughts of his own injury or death would no longer trouble him. She ate even his will to change the world to better suit him and the will to change himself to better suit the world. All she left was his love for others that he had shown while speaking to the fair one. Full from the sun-child's soul the fair one said to him, "I am finished, and now I will go to tell this story in the wyld currents beyond the world. Will you set me free?"

The golden man lay on the floor, hurt and confused from the missing parts of his soul. He said, "I am so glad you shared with me what would make you happy. Yes, I will set you free." With that he opened the cage the fair one was in and she was able to make her escape from the place of the no sun golden man's secret things. Once in the light of the sun she smelled the air and felt the way to the wyld places beyond the world. She set off in that direction, happy to be on her way to tell the story of all three golden ones. Her fellow fair ones would be jealous to hear of her fine meals of golden souls.

But on her way she met another golden woman. This one had the marking like the full moon and a marking like no moon both, one around the other. The fair one said to this golden woman, "Is there no end to the markings you golden men have? You are so unlike the wolves of the world." The golden woman said to the fair one, "Yes, we lead the wolves of the world, and are unlike them." The fair one almost went on her way when the golden woman looked again at the fair one and said, "I do not often see your kind traveling in the world. What brings you in from the wyld places?" The fair one told the golden woman with two marks, "I have given my services to three golden ones and now return to tell the story to my kin." The golden woman grew envious. "Whatever service you have rendered to my sisters and brothers, I would have you give to me." The fair one was so happy to be free that she almost refused the golden woman with two marks. Then she remembered how terrible the golden ones' swords were, and how sweet their souls tasted. "I ate part of their souls. All the parts that were holding them back from their great works. When I had eaten their burdens they could see the Way and did the things they truly desired to do. I could show you by eating your soul, but you'd have to tell me what to leave behind."

The golden woman with two marks said to the fair one, "I have been speaking with two peoples, I travel between them now. They speak of war which will burn many things I love and I try to make them see peace. They are only swayed by my words to postpone the day of their fighting, not to live in harmony as neighbors. I fear if I stop talking, they will make war. Eat the parts of my soul that hide the way to peace so that I might finish this work." The fair one agreed and asked no price, for eating the woman's soul and being on her way was price enough.

First the fair one ate her love for the two peoples, then she ate all her love for all the things in the world. Next she ate her thirst for battle, she would no longer raise her sword out of anger or challenge. She ate her sense of self and peace, thoughts of her own injury or death would no longer trouble her. She ate all the goals for herself and that she had agreed to achieve with others. All the fair one left was her will to change the world to better suit her and the will to change herself to better suit the world. Full from the sun-child's soul the fair one said to her, "I am finished, and now I will go to tell this story in the wyld currents beyond the world."

The golden woman lay on the floor, hurt from the missing parts of her soul. But hearing that the fair one was leaving she rose up and said to the fair one, "You will come with me and feast upon the souls of the two peoples, then they will know peace."

The fair one could smell the wyld places and itched to tell her story to her kin. She very much did not want to go with the golden woman with two marks. She was already full from the golden woman's soul and did not need a feast. Then she remembered how terrible the golden ones' swords were, and how sweet all souls tasted. She went with the golden woman with two marks.

They came upon the first people and the golden woman with two marks said to the fair one, "Eat all their souls." The fair one asked, "What of their souls would you like me to leave?" The golden woman with two marks said to the fair one, "Leave no part behind. I cannot risk that they will have war with the other people." The fair one did as she was bid, and the first people had no souls left.

They came upon the second people and the golden woman with two marks said to the fair one, "Eat all their souls." The fair one again asked, "What of their souls would you like me to leave?" The golden woman with two marks said to the fair one, "Leave no part behind. I cannot risk that they will have war with the other people." The fair one did as she was bid, and the second people had no souls left.

The golden woman with two marks thanked the fair one and said to her, "I will take you to the wyld places now for the help you have given me." The fair one was overjoyed. She thought highly of this golden woman who honored their agreement even with parts of her soul missing. The golden woman and the fair one became friends on their travels and both talked of the many places they had been. In their travels they came upon another golden woman. This one had a mark like a no moon with eight more marks pointing straight away from the center. The fair one said to the golden woman with nine marks and said, "There really are no end to the marks of the golden ones! Will the next one have one hundred and eight marks?" The golden women looked at each other in confusion, for the fair one did not make any sense to them. The golden woman with nine marks said, "There are only five types of marks upon the Solar brows. Where in the Wyld have you traveled that you have seen more?" The fair one, eager to tell stories of the wyld places she had travelled spent all day telling them stories. Eventually she relayed the story of the four golden souls she had drank recently and the great and terrible works the golden ones went on to do. The golden woman with nine marks confessed, "I have a foe for which I do not think I am up to the challenge. I am lucky we have no reason to quarrel, for if we did I do not know if I would be the victor." The golden woman with two marks said, "This fair one helped me unburden my soul and do great works. Perhaps with her help you might be eased from your worry." The golden woman with nine marks looked at the golden woman with two marks and said, "You look like you have no care in the world. I will try it." The fair one agreed, for how could she resist changing the story from eating four golden souls to five?

First the fair one ate her love for her foe, then she ate all her love for all the things in the world. Next she ate her will to change the world to better suit her and the will to change herself to better suit the world. She ate her sense of self and peace, thoughts of her own injury or death would no longer trouble her. She ate all the goals for herself and that she had agreed to achieve with others. All the fair one left was her thirst for battle, she would challenge any an all comers. Full from the sun-child's soul the fair one said to her, "I am finished, and now I will go to tell this story in the wyld currents beyond the world."

The golden woman with nine marks did not fall on the floor like the other golden ones. She stood through her pain, eyes wide with fury. She drew her sword and advanced upon the fair one and the golden woman with two marks. The golden woman with two marks shouted, "You have promised not to harm me! Recall our pact!" But it was as if the golden woman with nine marks could not hear her. They battled in a flurry of light and movement. As all eyes were on the golden women the fair one slipped off and away, finally returning to the wyld places to tell her story to any who would listen which is how I can tell you this story today.

The lesson, pups, is to keep all of your soul. Even if your soul is a burden at the time, even if you could do great works without those burdens is not worth the price of losing even a part of yourself to the mad things beyond the world. That work will be your last, for when your soul recovers you will find that you have traded all the things you love in the world for something and you will regret that choice. No single thing is worth that price.


End file.
